Rosters announced for Appy League All-Star game set for July 27 in Pulaski
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The Appalachian League announced today the rosters for the inaugural Appy League All-Star Game presented by Pennzoil. The rosters feature 44 of the league’s top players from the East and West Divisions, as nominated and voted on by the league’s managers. The 2021 Appy League All-Star Game is scheduled to take play at 7 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 27, at Calfee Park in Pulaski, Virginia.
Both rosters are comprised of ten pitchers and 12 position players. The East Team pitchers are Nate Ackenhausen, Brooks Ey, and Ben Harris of the Bluefield Ridge Runners; Jacob Speaker of the Burlington Sock Puppets; Tyler Judge and Grant Leader of the Danville OtterBots; Lucas Reed and Paco Hernandez of the Pulaski River Turtles; and Zane Probst and Justin Showalter of the Princeton WhistlePigs.
The position players for the East Team are catcher Eric Grintz, infielder Mike Seegers, and outfielder Mike Eze of Bluefield; outfielder Benji Gilbert of Burlington; catcher Ryan Johnson, infielders Mark Trotta and Jackson Beaman, and outfielders Ross Lovich and Cameron Leary of Pulaski; and infielders AJ Jones and Brady Day, and outfielder Dylan Rogers of Princeton.
The West Team features pitchers Paul Gervase and Rhian Mann of the Bristol State Liners; Drew Gillespie, Luis Gonzalez, and Manuel Rodriguez of the Elizabethton River Riders; Bryce Mayer, Zane Robbins, Austin Troesser, and Cameron Wagoner of the Greeneville Flyboys; and Andrew Ronne of the Johnson City Doughboys.
The position players for the West Team are infielders Cort Maynard and Mathew Golda and outfielder Taylor Jackson of Bristol; catcher Chase Adkison, infielders Marcus Brown and Robin Fernandez, and utility player Sam Thompson of Elizabethton; catcher Eddie Micheletti and outfielders Homer Bush Jr. and Jonathan Hogart of Greeneville; and infielder Joe Vetrano and outfielder Jaxon Crull of Johnson City.
The Elizabethton River Riders, Greeneville Flyboys, and the Pulaski River Turtles lead all Clubs with seven selections for the 2021 All-Star Game. Six Bluefield Ridge Runners earned All-Star nods for the East while the Bristol State Liners and Princeton WhistlePigs boast five all-star selections. The Johnson City Doughboys claimed three spots for the West team and a pair of Burlington Sock Puppets and Danville Otterbots will represent the East team in the inaugural event.
In total, fourteen Division-I conferences will be represented in the game, including four of the five power-five conferences. The Big 12 leads all conferences with seven players, including Brown, Crull, Golda, and Hernandez, who all play collegiately at Oklahoma State.
The Appy League All-Star Game presented by Pennzoil will be streamed live on MLB.com at 7 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 27. Tim McMaster, Bo Porter, Sam Dykstra, and Alexa Datt will have the call for MLB Network. The game will air on tape delay on MLB Network on Saturday, July 31.
Be sure to follow along with all the action on AppyLeague.com, and by following @AppyLeague on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The 2021 Appy League All-Star Game rosters are as follows:
East Division
Name; Position; Team
Nate Ackenhausen; LHP; Bluefield Ridge Runners
Jackson Beaman; INF; Pulaski River Turtles
Brady Day; INF; Princeton WhistlePigs
Brooks Ey; RHP; Bluefield Ridge Runners
Michael Eze; OF; Bluefield Ridge Runners
Benji Gilbert; OF; Burlington Sock Puppets
Eric Grintz; Catcher; Bluefield Ridge Runners
Ben Harris; OF/LHP; Bluefield Ridge Runners
Paco Hernandez; RHP; Pulaski River Turtles
Ryan Johnson; Catcher; Pulaski River Turtles
AJ Jones; INF; Princeton WhistlePigs
Tyler Judge; RHP; Danville Otterbots
Grant Leader; RHP; Danville Otterbots
Cameron Leary; OF; Pulaski River Turtles
Ross Lovich; OF; Pulaski River Turtles
Zane Probst; RHP; Princeton WhistlePigs
Lucas Reed; RHP; Pulaski River Turtles
Dylan Rogers; OF; Princeton WhistlePigs
Mike Seegers; INF; Bluefield Ridge Runners
Justin Showalter; RHP; Princeton WhistlePigs
Jacob Speaker; RHP; Burlington Sock Puppets
Mark Trotta; INF; Pulaski River Turtles
West Division
Name; Position; Team
Chase Adkison; Catcher; Elizabethton River Riders
Marcus Brown; INF; Elizabethton River Riders
Homer Bush Jr.; OF; Greeneville Flyboys
Jaxon Crull; OF; Johnson City Doughboys
Robin Fernandez; INF; Elizabethton River Riders
Paul Gervase; RHP; Bristol State Liners
Drew Gillespie; RHP; Elizabethton River Riders
Matthew Golda; INF; Bristol State Liners
Luis Gonzalez; RHP; Elizabethton River Riders
Jonathan Hogart; OF; Greenville Flyboys
Taylor Jackson; OF; Bristol State Liners
Rhian Mann; RHP; Bristol State Liners
Bryce Mayer; RHP; Greeneville Flyboys
Cort Maynard; INF; Bristol State Liners
Eddie Micheletti; Catcher; Greeneville Flyboys
Zane Robbins; RHP; Greeneville Flyboys
Manuel Rodriguez; RHP; Elizabethton River Riders
Andrew Ronne; RHP; Johnson City Doughboys
Sam Thompson; UTIL; Elizabethton River Riders
Austin Troesser; RHP; Greeneville Flyboys
Cameron Wagoner; RHP; Greeneville Flyboys
Joe Vetrano; INF; Johnson City Doughboys